Up to 20,000 euros for investments in digitalization
Until now , companies, self-employed individuals and freelancers could only claim bridging aid from the federal government for fixed costs such as rent, leasing and personnel costs. With Bridging Aid III, investments in digitization projects and e-commerce services are now also eligible for one-off funding or reimbursement of up to €20,000 .
The funding guidelines for the digitization grant are not clearly and comprehensively defined. According to the tax advisors we interviewed (third-party auditors when submitting applications), anything that has to do with investments in digitization can be submitted.
These would be, for example, investments in:
website & online shops
Creating an online marketing strategy to address new target groups
Consulting and implementation services of an online marketing agency
Introduction of software for CRM, human resources, etc.
software license fees
Hardware such as computers, tablets, smartphones etc.
Bridging Aid III: Innovations at a Glance
In detail, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) have announced the following innovations for corona-related bridging aid:
ÜH III Info (3)
1. Fixed cost subsidies will be paid for months with sales losses of at least 30 percent between November 2020 and June 2021.
2. Larger companies with an annual turnover of up to 750 million euros are also eligible.
3. The maximum amount of funding per month will increase uganda phone number data from EUR 50,000 to EUR 1.5 million within the maximum limits of the EU aid rules (increase to EUR 3 million for interconnected companies is in preparation).
4. More fixed costs are reimbursable , including structural modernization, renovation or conversion measures up to 20,000 euros per month to implement hygiene concepts (also retroactively to March 2020); investments in digitalization (e.g. setting up an online shop, entry costs for large platforms) one-off up to 20,000 euros.
5. Additional regulations:
Travel industry - commissions and reimbursement of external cancellation and preparation costs as well as a flat rate for personnel costs for certain trips (retroactively from March to December 2020)
Culture and event industry - reimbursement of cancellation and preparation costs (retroactively from March to December 2020)
stationary retail - depreciation costs for perishable goods and goods for the 2020/2021 winter season that were purchased before January 1, 2021 and could not be sold due to the lockdown and companies in the pyrotechnics industry; transport and storage costs after the ban on the sale of New Year's Eve fireworks and subsidies for fixed costs from March to December 2020 if sales fell by at least 80 percent in December 2020 compared to December 2019